It is a great pity that there should be so many distinct enemies at work for the destruction of literature, and that they should so often be allowed to work out their sad end. Looked at rightly, the possession of any old book is a sacred trust, which a conscientious owner or guardian would as soon think of ignoring as a parent would of neglecting his child. An old book, whatever its subjects or merits, is truly a portion of [inter]national history; we may imitate it and print it in facsimile, but we can never exactly reproduce it; and as an historical document it should be carefully preserved.
I do not envy any man that absence of sentiment which makes some people careless of the memorials of their ancestors, and whoc blood can be warmed up only by talking of horses or the price of hops. To them solitude means ennui and anybody’s company is preferable to their own. What an immense amount of calm enjoyment and mental renovation do such men miss. Even a millionaire will add a hundred per cent to his daily pleasures if he becomes a bibliophile; while the man of business with a taste for books, who through the day has struggled in the battle of life with all its irritating rebuffs and anxieties, what a blessed season of pleasurable repose opens upon him as he enters his sanctum, where every article wafts to him a welcome, and every book is a personal friend.
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Note: There is a lovely fold-out illustration of a bookworm around page 63.
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Book Details
Table of Contents
Feu
Eau
Gaz et chaleur
Poussière et négligence
Ignorance
Le ver des livres
Autre vermine
Relieurs
Collectionneurs
Conclusion: La vénération pour les vieux livres.
Edition Notes
Translation of: The enemies of books.
Classifications
The Physical Object
ID Numbers
Source records
Scriblio MARC recordLibrary of Congress MARC record
Library of Congress MARC record
marc_columbia MARC record
Excerpts
added by George.
Blades' conclusion, a reverence for old books.
THERE is a sort of busy worm
That will the fairest books deform,
By gnawing holes throughout them;
Alike, through every leaf they go,
Yet of its merits naught they know,
Nor care they aught about them.
Their tasteless tooth will tear and taint
The Poet, Patriot, Sage or Saint,
Not sparing wit nor learning.
Now, if you'd know the reason why,
The best of reasons I'll supply;
'Tis bread to the poor vermin.
Of pepper, snuff, or 'bacca smoke,
And Russia-calf they make a joke.
Yet, why should sons of science
These puny rankling reptiles dread?
'Tis but to let their books be read,
And bid the worms defiance."
That will the fairest books deform,
By gnawing holes throughout them;
Alike, through every leaf they go,
Yet of its merits naught they know,
Nor care they aught about them.
Their tasteless tooth will tear and taint
The Poet, Patriot, Sage or Saint,
Not sparing wit nor learning.
Now, if you'd know the reason why,
The best of reasons I'll supply;
'Tis bread to the poor vermin.
Of pepper, snuff, or 'bacca smoke,
And Russia-calf they make a joke.
Yet, why should sons of science
These puny rankling reptiles dread?
'Tis but to let their books be read,
And bid the worms defiance."
Page 57,
added by George.
Because it's an ode to bookworms!
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- Created April 1, 2008
- 7 revisions
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December 28, 2022 | Edited by MARC Bot | import existing book |
August 19, 2022 | Edited by MARC Bot | normalize LCCNs |
January 3, 2022 | Edited by Tom Morris | merge authors |
November 4, 2020 | Edited by MARC Bot | import existing book |
April 1, 2008 | Created by an anonymous user | Imported from Scriblio MARC record |